The roughly one-mile stretch of Saginaw Street from Grand Blanc Road south to the city limits, which sees traffic up to 20,000 cars a day, will be resurfaced starting in April.

The good news? Most of it will be done during the late night hours.

“We will make every effort to minimize that impact (to businesses along that stretch), but at the same time we ask everyone to be patient with us,” said Grand Blanc City Manager Paul Brake.

Work on Saginaw Street will be done between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. During that time motorists will see multiple lane closures, and the lanes should be reopened during daytime hours. However, some operations may require additional lane closures or reduced lane widths during daytime hours.

Construction on the street, which hasn’t been done since 1988, is scheduled to begin on April 30 and be completed in early July.

The stretch of road is heavily populated with commercial property, such as gas stations, McDonalds, Kroger, the Grand Mall, and local shops, along with the Grand Blanc High School, so it is without a doubt a very busy street, Brake said.

But work should be done sooner rather than later to prevent the street from getting in worse shape, he said.

Saginaw Street will be milled and resurfaced, while select sections curb, gutter and sidewalk will be removed and replaced. Sidewalk ramps at street intersections will be upgraded to meet requirements of the Americans with Disability Act, adding a detectable warning surface for those who are visually impaired.

“If it’s neglected any further it makes it dangerous. It can cause damage to vehicles,” Brake said. “There’s also the aspect of quality. This really is the entrance to our community and also southern Genesee County. …This is kind of your first impression coming into Grand Blanc. The condition of our roads, that is something we are very proud of.”

Planning for this road project began three years ago, so a lot of thought has gone into it, Brake said. The total cost of the project is almost $1.2 million, which the city will pay 20 percent of.

The rest of the project is federally funded through dollars that go through the Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission’s Transportation Improvement Plan, Brake said.

Suzette Verdun, store manager at Grand Blanc Florist at 11626 Saginaw St., said she is concerned about how the road work will affect her business, but there really isn’t any good time for it.

“Everybody will be inconvenienced no matter what,” Verdun said. “All in all it’s good (to see improvements). … My only concern would be how conveniently customers can get to us.

View full sizeThe map, courtesy of Grand Blanc city officials, shows the strip of Saginaw Street that will receive a facelift starting April 30.

“As a regular customer if I can’t get easy access I’m gone.”

Mother’s Day, which falls into the timeline of construction on May 13, is one the florist’s busiest days of the year, she said. She will just have to wait and see how things go, she said.

A public hearing will be held in early April before construction begins, Brake said, and a letter will be sent out to all property owners that will be affected by the road work.